Fire fighting equipment



1954 E. E. EICKMEYER 2,694,454

FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT Original Filed Feb. 24, 1950 INVENTOR EARL E. EICKMEYER ATTORNEYS United States Patent U FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT Earl E. Eickmeyer, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Duro ('30., Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application February 24, 1950, Serial No. 146,038. Divided and thisapplication March 1, 1951, Serial No. 213,393

3 Claims. (Cl. 169-13) The present invention relates to fire fighting apparatus, more particularly to private installations intended to handle small fires prior to the arrival of the community equipment.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 146,038, filed February 24, 1950, and entitled Fire Fighting Equipment.

In the case of farms, trailer camps, summer homes and other seasonal resort buildings, the matter of fire hazard is enormously increased, due to the absence of watchmen and remoteness of adequate fire fighting equipment. It is well known that in putting out fires a small quantity of water played on the fire at the start is far more effective than large quantities of water after the fire has gained headway.

The primary object of the invention is to provide improved fire fighting equipment which is immediately available upon the out-break of a fire in order to quench the flames or at least prevent the spreading thereof.

Another object is to provide fire fighting equipment which is self-contained including the hose, and can be placed into immediate operation by simply pulling the hose to its effective position.

A further object is to provide fire fighting equipment which can be kept in an unused but highly efficient condition over long periods of time, and is instantly avail able in case of emergency.

Another object is to provide improved fire fighting equipment that requires little or no expenditure of power until it is used during an emergency, at which time the power consumed is reasonably low.

A still further object is to provide fire fighting equipment which can be permanently or temporarily positioned near or even in the path of the fire and still remain instantly effective.

A further object is to provide improved fire fighting equipment in which the initiation of operation is extremely simple, and can be performed by an unskilled man, or a woman, or even a child, in order to apply water immediately upon the detection of the slightest smoke or flame.

The final object is to provide fire fighting equipment including a source of water and a reel of hose, and which remains inactive until the hose is unreeled therefrom.

Other objects and features will be apparent as the specification is perused in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 represents a layout of fire fighting apparatus, including a well source of water and showing the manner in which the apparatus can be contained in the ground;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detail view, somewhat enlarged, of a typical nozzle at the end of the hose which may be used to advantage;

Figure 3 shows a modification of the fire fighting equipment including the underground casing, particularly from the standpoint of the control of the pump motor.

Referring to Figure 1, reference character 1 indicates a relatively large underground casing or compartment, preferably made of metal or concrete. This casing is submerged in the ground practically as far as its upper edge in order to disturb the landscape as little as possible and also to obtain the greatest protection from being fireswept. The casing is closed at the bottom and preferably water-proofed, since it contains the fire fighting equipment, parts of which may be susceptible to dampness. The upper end of the casing is open but supports a cover 2 of any suitable design, made of metal, wood or concrete extending at a rakish angle with respect to the casing in order to shed water, and there is a centrally disposed venilator 3 on the roof.

The fire fighting equipment-proper comprises essentially of a motor 4 or other source of power and any suitable type of pump 5 connected thereto, for example a centrifugal-impeller type,'as illustrated, or a piston type pump. The pump is characterized by high volume delivery in order to furnish large quantities of water at the required point. Electrical energy from the motor can be taken from the wires 6 which are led through the roof of the housing .or casing .by an insulator '7. The extension 8 of these wires-within the "housingpasses 'to a switch 9 provided with a'swinga'ble inverted S-shaped lever 10 which extends upwardly for reason explained hereinafter.

Wires 11 are taken from the switch 9 "to the motor, the purpose being that when the arm or lever 10 is pressed downwardly about the pivot at the switch, the circuit between wires 8 and His interrupted and the motor 4 remains quiescent or stopped. On the other hand, when the lever 10 is permitted to swing upwardly about its pivot, the motor is energized and serves to operate the pump.

A spring (not shown) may be connected to the lever 10 to cause this upward movement under the conditions which will be described presently. The pump 5 is supported on a base element 12 which is fitted around a cylindrical tank 13, the latter extending horizontally of the housing and supported on chocks '14. The latter may be mounted on the bottom of the housing, but as illustrated, they are supported on a relatively heavy inverted C-shaped frame 15 having a T-section. The lower leg of the frame is bolted (not shown) or otherwise secured to the bottom of the housing.

The upper leg of the frame 15 terminates in a starshaped spider 16, the fingers of which at the top surface are flat, and there is a centrally disposed opening (not shown) extending depth-wise of the spider. This opening constitutes a bearing for a horizontally disposed plate 17 forming part of a flanged drum 18 for carrying .a hose 19 between the flanges. The hose is therefore adapted to rotate, together with its drum, on top of the support 16. The inner end of the hose is connected in any suitable leak-proof manner, which permits rotation of the coil of hose, to a centrally disposed pipe within the drum 18 and this pipe extends down through the drum and through the support 16 to form a pipe 20 passing to one end of the tank 13.

The other or outer end of the hose .is provided with a nozzle 21, also an on and off valve 21' of any suitable type. When the hose is in its fully reeled-up position, the nozzle is adapted to be supported on thelever 10 to cause the latter to rotate at its swivel and open the switch 9. The upper end of the lever 10 may take on a bifurcated portion in which the spacebetween the furcations loosely receive the nozzle.

In order to obtain still further support for the hose in the event that a considerable length of hose is required, a diagonal brace 22 may be provided, this brace having a vertical portion 23 extending upwardly to support the underside of the frame member 15 and may also serve as a support for the switch 9. The lower end of the brace may be welded or otherwise secured to the intermediate member of the frame 15. A separate mechanical connection 24 may be taken from the brace 22 to the upper surface of the pump 5 in order to lend still increased rigidity to the parts as a whole.

In addition to the pipe 20, the tank is provided with a second pipe 25 preferably connected to the opposite end of the tank and passing up to the discharge outlet of the pump 5'. The pump obtains the water from a well source indicated at 26, preferably of a character that will insure large quantities of water throughout all of the seasons. The well is covered as indicated at 27 to prevent any filling up with debris or solid material, leaves, .etc., and the sides are preferably waterproofed to conserve the water over long periods of time. An intake pipe 28 extends into the well and is preferably provided at the lower end with a foot valve 29 and a strainer 30. The pipe 28 passes into the housing near the bottom thereof and by means of elbows and connections 31, connection is made to the inlet or suction side of the pump as indicated at 32.

Assuming that a fire has just broken out and is discovered by a passerby who may be thoroughly unskilled in fighting fires, it is simply necessary to remove the roof 2 and pick up the nozzle 21 from the bifurcated lever 10, at which time the switch 9 will close the circuit to the motor. The impeller or pistons of the pump will thereupon serve automatically to withdraw water from the well 26 through the pipe 28 and connections 32 into the pump then out through the pipe 25 to the tank 13. The pressure of the water in the tank will force water to flow up through the pipe 20 into the inner end of the hose 19 and hence to the nozzle 21. However, at this time the valve 21 on the nozzle is still closed. The user or operator would then continue to drag the nozzle which causes the hose to unreel from the drum 18. The outer end of the hose and nozzle is brought as close as possible to the fire at which time the valve handle 21 is moved to its open position, ready to direct water on to the blaze. It is obvious that the hose 19 must be of sufiicient length to reach any and all portions of the building which is intended to be protected.

When the fire is out, the operator would close the nozzle valve and then wind the hose onto the reel or drum. The nozzle 21 is then replaced on the lever to open the switch 9 and the pump immediately stops. Any water that is left in the hose can gradually drain down through the system and return to the well. The roof 2 is replaced and the apparatus is ready for the next emergency.

It is noted that all of the pumping apparatus including the hose is installed in an underground housing or casing and the roof 2 is at a sufiicient distance above the terrain to eliminate the possibility of being buried in snow during the winter months, and in addition, the submersion of the casing tends to protect any water that may be left in the pump or tank from freezing. It is apparent that if desired, elecrical heaters may be installed within the casing for added protection during severe freezing weather, although, in general, sufficient heat is left in the ground to maintain the pump above freezing temperature at all times. The casing is sunk to such a depth that only a small portion projects above the ground, and therefore, ghere is no obstruction to the outdoor view from the ouse.

While I have shown and described the switch 9 as being opened and closed by the weight of the nozzle 21 acting through the lever 10, it is apparent that, if desired, the lever could readily be extended upwardly and made responsive to the removal of the roof 2. Thus, when the latter is removed by the user, the motor 4 is immediately energized, and when the roof is replaced, after the hose has been reeled back in position the motor is caused to stop. This modification is illustrated in Figure 3.

In this figure, the lever 10 is extended upwardly to a distance such as to contact the removable roof 2 when the latter has been placed in position. A wide contact in the form of a plate 33 may be employed and the latter is adapted to be pressed downwardly along with the lever as the roof is placed on the casing or compartment to open switch 9. However, as the roof is removed when an emergency arises, the lever is caused by means of a spring (not shown) to move upwardly through the opening in the top of the casing. thereby closing the motor switch and starting the pumping operation. Inasmuch as the control of the pump motor is effected by the change in position of the roof and not by the nozzle, as in Figures 1 and 2, this nozzle may be supported on a fixed standard 34 from which it can be readily removed and used to unreel the hose during the emergency.

It will be understood that various modifications and arrangements in structure could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I cIaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A unitary fire fighting system disposed adiacent a building to be protected, including a housing and an upright frame member secured to said housing, a pump and an actuating motor, a reservoir supported on said frame and connected to the discharge of the pump, said pump and motor being supported on said reservoir, a reel of hose rotatably mounted on said frame above the pump and including a nozzle, a pipe extending from said reservoir to the end of the hose opposite from the nozzle, a pipe within said housing extending form a position exterior of said reservoir to the suction side of the pump and adapted to be connected to a source of fluid, a pipe exterior of said housing and connected from the discharge side of the pump to said reservoir, an on and 011 switch for said motor mounted on said frame, a lever attached to said switch for controlling the on and off positions thereof, said lever having an end portion shaped to receive said nozzle, the weight of the nozzle being effective to push the lever downwardly to move the switch to its off position, said lever being adapted for movement upwardly when the nozzle is removed, whereby the switch is moved to its on position and the motor started to operate the pump.

2. A unitary fire fighting system disposed adjacent a building to be protected, including a housing and an upright frame member secured to said housing, a pump and an actuating motor, a reservoir supported on said frame and connected to the discharge of the pump, said pump and motor being supported on said reservoir, a reel of hose rotatably mounted on said frame above the pump and including a nozzle, 21 pipe extending from said reservoir to the end of the hose opposite from the nozzle, 21 pipe within said housing extending from a position exterior of said reservoir to the suction side of the pump and adapted to be connected to a source of fluid, a pipe exterior of said housing and connected from the discharge side of the pump to said reservoir, an on and off switch for said motor mounted on said frame, a spring biased pivoted lever attached to said switch for controlling the on and off positions thereof, said lever having an end portion shaped to receive said nozzle, the weight of the nozzle being etfective to push the lever downwardly to move the switch to its off-position, said lever automatically moving upwardly when the nozzle is removed and the hose reel rotated, whereby the switch is moved to its on-position and the motor started to operate the pump.

3. A unitary fire fighting system disposed adjacent a building to be protected, including a housing having a cover member, said housing being adapted to be mounted in the ground, a C-shaped frame mounted in an upright position in said housing, a pump and an actuating motor, a reservoir supported on the lower arm of said frame and connected to the discharge of the pump, said pump and motor being rigidly supported on said reservoir centrally of said frame, a reel of hose rotatably mounted on the upper arm of said frame above the pump and including a nozzle, a pipe in said housing extending from said reservoir to the end of the hose opposite from the nozzle, a pipe in said housing extending from a position exterior of said reservoir to the suction side of the pump and adapted to be connected to a source of fluid, a pipe in said housing connected from the discharge side of the pump to said reservoir, an on and otf switch for said motor mounted on said frame, a spring biased pivoted lever movable in the vertical direction and attached to said switch for controlling the on and off positions thereof, said lever when pushed downwardly being adapted to move the switch to its cit-position and when permitted to rise by the spring action is adapted to move the switch to its on-position whereby the motor is energized and the pump operated until the lever is pushed downwardly to cause the switch to resume its oil-position and the motor to stop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Englund June 2 1948 

